MOA & RA Rallies - 4. Arriving in Des Moines, Iowa

4. Arriving in Des Moines, Iowa

Even though we had time, we tried to be at the Fairground in Des Moines as early as we could on this Sunday morning. There was work to do!

I carried a tent for the trip down to Des Moines and for the one week later rally of the RA rally in Wellsboro, PA. (I will come to that in this blog later).

Schmoozing With Friends In Front of Our Tent

I had to set up the tent but where exactly do you plop a tent?

It takes us some time to scout out the area. Carol and I ride around the premises, looking for what we believe is a good spot. And yes, the early bird catches the worm here. The good spots go quickly, that is why we had to be here ‘early’.

Everything around us was still in a bit of disarray because nobody knew yet where anything would be, where anything was allowed to be set up, etc. But we did have a map, sent out by the MOA, showing camping areas.

Policewoman Checking Out Our Camping Site

A policewoman came and told us we could not set up a tent where we were working on setting up but... after we showed her the map sent out to all members by the MOA, after other people came and stood beside us, telling her we were allowed to do what we were doing, she was ok with that. Naturally, she had to make a phone call to her higher ups, but all was ok. We really never have a problem with the local police, we never do.

The police are doing their due diligence and that, too is ok with me.

A Few More Tents Once the Rally Starts

We sat up the tent not because we were using it to sleep in, but because we used it as a drop off; a refuge, a place to fall back on in case of unforeseen events. Friends we know used our tent to store their riding gear, too. Typically we ride in, drop our bike and gear off at the tent and then spend our time at the rally grounds. The tent, in this case, only serves as a base and storage area.

 

Where do we stay, sleep?  Planning is everything. Months before the rally started I looked on line for any facilities that would allow us to sleep in a real bed instead of sleeping on the ground. Oh, we don’t mind sleeping in a tent, but we also don’t mind sleeping in an air conditioned room, in a real bed, when temps are over 95 F or 30 plus Celsius outside.

Typically I look at websites which list motels, hotels first. Then I try Airbnb, even Youth Hostels, whatever is offered that could give us an air conditioned place to sleep. I carefully consider the distance it takes to get back and forth to the rally site, I do not want to be 30 minutes away, so I try to keep it reasonably close to where the activities are. While searching a few months back I found this ‘Extended Stay’ facility that is kind of set up like a hotel. Normally it serves people who have to be ‘living’ there on a temporary basis and when I thought about it, that was exactly what we were doing. I booked it for the 7 days we were in town. This ‘hotel’ was 3 miles away from the rally grounds and it worked out perfectly. We rode in to the rally every morning and went back to sleep in the A/C every night.

Good thing we had this place... it was HOT, but I said that already!  Sleeping at night in a hot tent is no fun, I know, I have been in that situation many a times. But since I am getting older I believe I am also getting a bit wiser... this extended stay place was just what we were looking for. The price of $40/night including all taxes was a fair price, I felt.

We are all set, we now have a base tent, we now have a place to sleep and now we need to find a place to consume our food. Every rider I know prefers a place within walking distance of where they are camping. At least 2 meals daily, breakfast and dinner, where do we find this place?

Heading to the Diner Outside the Fairgrounds

We asked other riders what was nearby and what was good, we searched the internet, and we rode around the block to look for a good place. Luck was with us, there was a diner just beyond the Fairgrounds fence that was perfect. A cafe or diner is a preferred place to eat; fancy, white table cloths are not so much in vogue with us at a rally.

Naturally the food needs to be good and plentiful.....ah, the quirky ways and folks of rally living.

There are people we know who are almost ‘professional’ rally goers. As soon as the weather changes to ‘rideable’ they are on the move. Like travellers, they go from one rally to the next, constantly moving, constantly living in a different location. They truly become “Nomads”, we call them Rally Rats.

And when I think about it... it’s a wonderful life... I could do that! For awhile.

Their ‘house’ is their tent. Between rallies they wild camp or use a camping ground to just hang out. From their reports I know they find the oddest sightseeing stuff along the way. They are true ‘Nomads’, I prefer that term. Just imagine riding on the North American Continent, from Alaska down to Mexico, any place in between and just ‘rally’.

Yiieehaaa!

So now that we are set up... we report in to volunteer.

That is the next page on this blog!